Over the past decade, the Internet has become an essential source of information for individuals and businesses. The popularity of the Internet as an information resource is due, in part, to the vast amount of available information that can be accessed by almost anyone with access to a computing device. Moreover, the Internet has proven particularly conducive to conducting electronic commerce, and has already proven to provide substantial benefits to both businesses and consumers alike.
Many web services have been developed through which vendors can advertise and sell products directly to potential clients who access their websites. To attract potential consumers to their websites, however, like any other business, requires targeted advertising. One of the most common and conventional advertising techniques applied on the Internet is to provide advertising promotions (e.g., banner ads, pop-ups, ad links, etc.) on the web pages of another website, such that the advertising promotions include links directing an end user to the advertiser's website when the advertising promotion (e.g., the link) is selected by the end user. Typically, an advertiser will select websites that publish information that is somehow related to the advertiser's business.